Biodegradable container for solid products

ABSTRACT

A biodegradable container for use with solid products such as deodorant or antiperspirant is disclosed. The container includes a body having a sidewall, a bottom end, a top end, and an opening at the top end. The deodorant is placed within a chamber formed by the sidewall. The sidewall includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between the top end and the bottom end. A wax base seals the bottom end of the body, and a cap closes the top end of the body. The deodorant is exposed by shortening the height of the body by tearing off the top of the body at a ring of circumferential perforations. The container body, the wax base, and the cap are made of biodegradable or recycled materials.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/693,105, filed Jul. 2, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to biodegradable containers made for personal care products, such as underarm deodorant, lip balm, or lipstick, or small items such as pills or candies. Such containers, and methods for making and using such containers, are described herein.

There are many types of solid deodorant and antiperspirant sticks, which are typically packaged in dispensing containers suitable for conventional application of the deodorant or antiperspirant composition to the skin by a consumer. Conventional containers use an elevator/screw system to dispense product. Such a container is typically equipped with an elevator, disposed within a body of the container, and having a screw in threaded engagement with the elevator. A knob is accessible on the bottom of the exterior of the container, for use by a consumer to rotate the screw. During use, the knob is turned by the consumer to rotate the screw and move the elevator towards the top of the container, thus pushing up the product.

Conventional containers are also made of non-biodegradable plastics, which generate undesirable waste. It would be desirable to provide additional options that are biodegradable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a biodegradable container that can be used with solid products such as deodorant or antiperspirant or pills or candies. All parts of the container are made from materials that are biodegradable and/or recyclable. The container includes a body having a sidewall, a bottom end, a top end, and an opening at the top end. The deodorant is placed within a chamber formed by the sidewall. The sidewall includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between the top end and the bottom end. In use, as the solid product is consumed and gets shorter, a part of the container body is removed at a ring of circumferential perforations, exposing additional solid product.

Disclosed in various embodiments are containers that comprise: a body, a wax base, and a cap. The body comprises a sidewall, and has a bottom end, a top end, and an opening at the top end. The sidewall has an inner surface that defines a chamber inside the body. The sidewall includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between the top end and the bottom end. The wax base seals the bottom end of the body. The cap closes the opening at the top end of the body.

The container may also further comprise a nonstick liner adjacent the inner surface of the sidewall of the container body. The nonstick liner may be wax paper. The nonstick liner can also include a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between a top end and a bottom end of the nonstick liner. In such embodiments, the circumferential perforations of the nonstick liner should match up with the circumferential perforations of the sidewall.

In particular embodiments, the cap comprises a sidewall, and the cap is sealed to the top end of the body by wax, and the container further includes a string for separating the cap from the top end of the body.

The sidewall of the container body may be made of paper.

The container may further comprise a solid deodorant composition that is received within the chamber of the body. Alternatively, the container may further comprise a plurality of pills, tablets, candies, or other small items, which are received within the chamber of the body.

These and other non-limiting aspects of the present disclosure are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following is a brief description of the drawings, which are presented for the purposes of illustrating the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein and not for the purposes of limiting the same.

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a first example embodiment of a container made according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exterior view of the body of a container made according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a second example embodiment of a container made according to the present disclosure. Here, the cap sits upon the container body.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of another cap that can be used with the container of the present disclosure. This cap includes a top plate.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one method for making the container of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of how the container of the present disclosure is used.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a container of the present disclosure. This photograph shows the container prior to the sealed cap being broken.

FIG. 8 shows the string after it has been used to break the wax sealing the cap to the container body.

FIG. 9 shows the cap separated from the container body.

FIG. 10 shows the cap placed again upon the container body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of desired embodiments and the examples included therein. In the following specification and the claims which follow, reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings.

Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings and the following description below, it is to be understood that like numeric designations refer to components of like function.

The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The terms “comprise(s),” “include(s),” “having,” “has,” “can,” “contain(s),” and variants thereof, as used herein, are intended to be open-ended transitional phrases, terms, or words that require the presence of the named ingredients/components/steps and permit the presence of other ingredients/components/steps. However, such description should be construed as also describing compositions, articles, or processes as “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” the enumerated ingredients/components/steps, which allows the presence of only the named ingredients/components/steps, along with any impurities that might result therefrom, and excludes other ingredients/components/steps.

Numerical values should be understood to include numerical values which are the same when reduced to the same number of significant figures and numerical values which differ from the stated value by less than the experimental error of conventional measurement technique of the type described in the present application to determine the value.

All ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the recited endpoint and independently combinable (for example, the range of “from 2 grams to 10 grams” is inclusive of the endpoints, 2 grams and 10 grams, and all the intermediate values).

The term “about” can be used to include any numerical value that can vary without changing the basic function of that value. When used with a range, “about” also discloses the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints, e.g. “about 2 to about 4” also discloses the range “from 2 to 4.” The term “about” may refer to plus or minus 10% of the indicated number.

Some terms used herein are relative terms. For example, the terms “upper” and “lower” are relative to each other in location, i.e. an upper component is located at a higher elevation than a lower component in a given orientation, but these terms can change if the device is flipped. The terms “inlet” and “outlet” are relative to a material moving through them with respect to a given structure, e.g. the material moves through the inlet into the structure and moves through the outlet out of the structure.

The terms “horizontal” and “vertical” are used to indicate direction relative to an absolute reference, i.e. ground level. However, these terms should not be construed to require structures to be absolutely parallel or absolutely perpendicular to each other.

For example, a first vertical structure and a second vertical structure are not necessarily parallel to each other. The terms “top” and “bottom” or “base” are used to refer to surfaces where the top is always higher than the bottom/base relative to an absolute reference, i.e. the surface of the earth. The terms “upwards” and “downwards” are also relative to an absolute reference; upwards is always against the gravity of the earth.

One example of the biodegradable containers of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 1, which is a side-cross-sectional view. The container 100 comprises a body 110, a wax base 140, and a cap 150.

The body 110 has a sidewall 120, which is usually formed from a biodegradable and/or recyclable paper. The body 110 has a bottom end 112 and a top end 114 on opposite ends of the sidewall. An opening 115 is present at the top end of the sidewall/body. The sidewall 120 has an inner surface 122 and an exterior surface 124. The body 110 has a hollow chamber 116 which is surrounded by the sidewall 120. A solid product 130 (in the form of a bar or other desired shape) is received within the chamber 116 of the body. For illustrative purposes, the solid product will be a deodorant composition.

Also illustrated is a nonstick liner 135 adjacent the inner surface 122 of the sidewall of the container body. The nonstick liner 135 also surrounds the solid product 130. Here, excess nonstick liner is pressed in at the bottom end 112 and the top end 114 of the body. The nonstick liner can be, for example, wax paper.

A wax base 140 seals the bottom end 112 of the body. The wax base may be considered as closing the opening originally present at the bottom end of the body. The wax is safe for contact with food.

A cap 150 closes the opening at the top end 114 of the body. The cap includes a sidewall 160, which is also made from paper, and does not include a top. The cap 150 is sealed to the top end 114 of the body by wax 166. The cap sidewall 160 has a diameter 155 which is greater than the diameter 125 of the body. A string 162 is also included at the bottom end 154 of the cap, which is used to break the wax and separate the cap 150 from the top end 114 of the body. One end 164 of the string can extend towards the bottom end 112 of the body.

FIG. 2 is an exterior view of the exterior surface 124 of the body. The sidewall includes a set 180 of rings of circumferential perforations, or score lines. The score lines/rings 182 are located at intervals between the bottom end 112 and the top end 114 of the body (preferably regular intervals). Here, the intervals have a height 185 between them. The interval height 185 between the rings on the sidewall may be from about 0.5 cm to about 1.5 cm.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together, the cap 150 has a height 157. In various embodiments, the cap height 157 is at least 1 centimeter greater than the interval height 185 between the rings on the sidewall. The body also has a height 127, which in various embodiments is from about 10 cm to about 15 cm.

In some particular embodiments, the nonstick liner 135 also includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between a top end and a bottom end of the nonstick liner. The rings of circumferential perforations/score lines on the sidewall of the container body are desirably aligned with the rings of circumferential perforations/score lines on the nonstick liner.

Some variations on the container of FIG. 1 are illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the top end 114 of the container body. In this embodiment, the solid product 130 has a height that is greater than the height of the body. Instead of the cap having a diameter greater than that of the container body, the sidewall of the cap 150 has a diameter 155 that is about equal to the diameter 125 of the container body 110. The cap is located atop the container body, and is secured to the solid deodorant bar instead of the container body.

FIG. 4 is an alternative design for the cap. Here, the cap 150 includes a sidewall 160 and also a top plate 161, which are made from paper. The sidewall and the top plate are covered with wax 166. A string 162 for separating the cap from the container body is also shown. Although not illustrated, other methods can also be used for initially affixing the cap to the container body, then separating the cap from the container body for reuse. For example, a tab along the bottom edge of the sidewall on the cap might be used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method for making the container of the present disclosure. The method starts at step 510, with the solid deodorant bar. It is noted that the solid deodorant bar can be any desired shape, for example cylindrical or rectangular. At step 520, the nonstick liner, in the form of a flat sheet, is rolled around the solid deodorant bar. The two ends of the flat sheet are then joined together. At step 530, a paper sheet is rolled around the solid deodorant bar. The two ends of the paper sheet are joined together to form the sidewall of the container body. At step 540, any portion of the nonstick liner extending past the ends of the solid deodorant bar is pressed in at the top end and the bottom end of the container body. At step 550, the bottom end of the container body is sealed with wax. At step 560, the cap is affixed to the top end of the container body (whether as illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, or FIG. 4). At step 570, the cap is sealed to the top end using wax. Of course, step 550 can be performed after steps 560, 570 if desired.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of how the container of the present disclosure is used. To expose the solid product 130, a top segment 186 of the container body is separated from the rest of the container body 110 at a ring of circumferential perforations. As the solid deodorant bar is consumed, additional segments can be removed to expose further portions of the solid product 130.

FIGS. 7-10 are photographs showing an example of a biodegradable container according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 shows the container prior to the sealed cap being broken. FIG. 8 shows the string after it has been used to break the wax sealing the cap to the container body. FIG. 9 shows the cap separated from the container body. FIG. 10 shows the cap placed again upon the container body.

It is also contemplated that the biodegradable container of the present disclosure could be used with smaller items. Referring back to FIG. 1, the container is illustrated as containing a single solid product 130 that fills the entire chamber 116. However, the chamber could alternatively be filled with a plurality of smaller items such as pills, tablets, or candies, or other desired objects, to act for example as a pill dispensary. In such cases, referring to FIG. 2, the interval height 185 may be such that a single item fits between rings 182.

The present disclosure has been described with reference to certain examples. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the present disclosure be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. 

1. A container, comprising: a body comprising a sidewall, the body having a bottom end, a top end, and an opening at the top end, and the sidewall having an inner surface that defines a chamber inside the body, wherein the sidewall includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between the top end and the bottom end; a wax base sealing the bottom end of the body; and a cap that closes the opening at the top end of the body.
 2. The container of claim 1, further comprising a nonstick liner adjacent the inner surface of the sidewall of the container body.
 3. The container of claim 2, wherein the nonstick liner is wax paper.
 4. The container of claim 2, wherein the nonstick liner also includes a set of rings of circumferential perforations, the rings being located at intervals between a top end and a bottom end of the nonstick liner.
 5. The container of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises a sidewall, and the cap is sealed to the top end of the body by wax, and the container further includes a string for separating the cap from the top end of the body.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein the sidewall of the container is made of paper.
 7. The container of claim 1, further comprising a solid deodorant composition that is received within the chamber of the body.
 8. The container of claim 1, wherein the cap has a height that is at least 1 centimeter greater than the interval between the rings on the sidewall.
 9. The container of claim 1, wherein the interval between the rings on the sidewall is from about 0.5 cm to about 1.5 cm.
 10. The container of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of items that are received within the chamber of the body.
 11. The container of claim 10, wherein an interval between the rings on the sidewall corresponds to a height of the items. 